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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. game — a match
  3. cell — a phone
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. charge — in control
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. charge — electricity
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cell — in biology
  16. clip — a video
  17. rest — a break
  18. fall — the season
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. clip — for paper
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. charge — a price
  23. clip — to cut
  24. branch — a division

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com